Differentiated Strategies and Assessment
Author Note
Institutional Affiliation
Course
Instructor’s Name
Date
Differentiated Strategies and Assessment
Title of Sample Lesson Plan: Story narration using creative dramatics.
Topic: Reading, Narrating, Diction
Grade Level: Level K [Kindergarten]
Virginia Standard of Learning:
By the end of the lesson plan, the student will demonstrate
- The ability to use and develop their speaking and narration abilities.
- The comprehension of texts, including fiction and drama, from start to end.
Differentiating by Readiness
Background
Proposed Background:
Educators are charged with the responsibility of designing and establishing conducive and effective learning environments. Classroom management centers on the creation of an environment where students feel safe, appreciated and inspired (Orlich et al. 2018). The lesson plan will focus on maximizing the classroom to develop the student’s scholarly and social skills. Student engagement with the educator is bound to result in the creation of trust, which is essential for self-motivation and commitment to learning (Orlich et al. 2018). When it comes to the story retelling lesson, classroom management will focus on two-way communication in the form of conversations. Students will engage in turn-taking to learn the fundamentals of narratives, including characters, themes and literary devices. Two-way acting is a way to ensure the learners interact with the reading beyond simple reading.
Strategies
Content Strategies
Educators first assess the student’s readiness to learn before formulating any differentiated strategies. Learners will undertake pre-assessments, specifically diction exercises. The approach will facilitate an understanding of individual student needs, helping ensure the lesson is customizable to meet different learning preferences (Orlich et al. 2018). Heterogeneous grouping can be applied in the determination of group needs. In this strategy, students operate within groups while narrating selected texts. The educator makes observations on skill gaps and learner knowledge to understand how to differentiate the reading lessons (Praneet & Malinee, 2014). The use of pre-assessments and heterogeneous grouping is a good way to determine whether reading exercises should be individual or collective undertakings for a better understanding of manuscripts. The educator can also request feedback from the students on whether they prefer individual or group reading. Providing the learners with a choice is a strategic way to inspire them and instill a sense of commitment to their academic development.
Process Strategies
Group learning is an effective process strategy for improving the student’s readiness to learn. The educator creates groups where each learner contributes to the reading activity in one role or the other. According to Orlich et al. (2018), group learning involves activities such as reading sequencing, role-playing and working through scenes. Group learning is a way to transfer learning into the student’s hands to inspire them to learn from each other. Group learning will prove beneficial if students have substantial skill gaps between them (Orlich et al. 2018). One collaborative strategy the classroom can use is the Think-Pair-Share (TPS) technique. The teacher poses a question, and the learners work together to solve it by assessing the selected readings. However, TPS could be difficult to implement due to the students’ young age. Collaboration in reading might not be a familiar concept to kindergarten children.
Product Strategies
Role-playing dramatic texts is one strategy for demonstrating the student’s readiness to learn. The teacher has the choice between students reading out different character roles or physically acting out divergent scenes from selected readings (Orlich et al. 2018). It is up to the educator to select simple and interesting texts that motivate the children to engage in role-playing. The strategy allows the learners to understand the importance of sequencing actions and events. If one child plays their role too early or too late, the entire scene collapses and has to be redone. Another strategy centers on the integration of technology. According to Orlich et al. (2018), teachers can leverage digital applications, such as the Sock-Puppet app, for learners to act out classroom texts. There are numerous online software for role-playing, including My Lines and Table Read. Moreover, digital apps provide learners with the freedom to act individually or in small groups.
Differentiating by Interest
Background
Proposed Background
Both parents and educators often lament about struggling with motivating children. Differentiation by interest is a means of integrating inspiration into the classroom environment through instruction (Praneet & Malinee, 2014). Educators are charged with the responsibility of building the student’s interests by providing multiple opportunities for engagement. Orlich et al. (2018) highlight that readiness and interest are key to learner engagement. Therefore, student attraction to a particular topic can have substantial power. When the topic draws them in, their engagement deepens, making them more willing to spend more time thinking (Praneet & Malinee, 2014). The finding highlights the importance of including contextual learning within classroom instructions.
Strategies
Content Strategies
The oral language lessons will leverage theatre groups to improve the students’ interests. The strategy involves providing learners with the opportunity to go beyond reading (Tomlinson & Moon, 2013). The learners get to write, read and act out personal scripts. The approach allows the student to develop ownership, which instills a greater sense of commitment to language learning. The educator provides a prompt, and it is up to the students to expand and finish it. Another applicable content strategy is multiple means of representation. The educator leverages familiar texts with shared values within the classroom to bring down engagement barriers (Orlich et al. 2018). Group acting can equally be used to capture the divergent forms of representations in texts. Allowing students to offer their understanding of texts while critiquing each other is bound to enhance their understanding of sequencing and sense of confidence in comprehending what they read.
Process Strategies
Orlich et al. (2018) cite the potential use of interest-based literature circles in improving student understanding of class texts. The strategy entails the teacher grouping learners based on shared interests. For instance, romance novel readers are placed in one group. Students are then able to practice their reading, speaking and narration skills within the created literature circles. The instructor can instruct different group members to retell different parts of selected books. The approach helps the learners build on each other’s language skills while equally developing their social skills. Tomlinson and Moon (2013) discuss the use of visual sequencing cards. Students select several visual cards with a preferred activity. The learner must arrange the cards in the order of preparing for the activity. The objective is to impact the learner’s comprehension of the importance of sequencing in storytelling.
Product Strategies
Students’ processing of texts through stations at the start of the lesson will deepen their understanding and engagement in narrative retelling. The instructor creates workstations inside the classroom with different reading activities to determine the children’s preferred learning styles. Stations also provide the learners with room to process what needs to be done during collaborative exercises (Orlich et al. 2018). Another strategy centers on the use of presentation technology, such as Slide Share or PowerPoint, for more captivating presentations. The visual software provides the educator with a chance to guide learners on sequencing scenarios. The teacher can request the children to create storyboards to practice their sequencing. The strategy is also an alternative means of empowering the learners’ digital literacy, as contemporary texts and scripts tend to come in digital format.
Differentiating by Student Profile
Background
Proposed Background
A common misconception among scholars, teachers and parents is that learner profiles are mainly influenced by learning styles. Instead, differentiating by profile entails consideration of demographical and individual factors. Educators have to consider gender, learning styles, culture, intelligence and talents when differentiating learner profiles (Tomlinson & Moon, 2013). The objective is not to revolve around preferred learning styles but rather on how the learners make sense of texts. Such a consideration covers the factors that make learners distinct as individuals. A simple survey is a useful tool for collecting relevant information on students and parents. Observations are equally effective in identifying unique learner characteristics. Differentiation through profiles will increase the diversity of instructions in oral lessons, enhancing student engagement and eventual understanding.
Strategies
Content Strategies
Role-playing is an effective content strategy for teaching sequencing despite differences in student profiles. According to Tomlinson and Moon (2013), teacher support is the primary factor determining the success of model sequencing in language learners. The student can give instructions, and the teacher acts out or vice versa. The activity being acted out should have shocking outcomes to enhance student interest and recall. However, as aforementioned, role-playing could be difficult to implement due to the young age of kindergarten learners. Another applicable strategy is the use of audio-visual representations of selected texts. Listening and watching literature is documented to improve children’s sequencing of stories during narrations (Orlich et al. 2018). There is a broad array of audio-visual technologies that teachers can use in class to enable students to make real-world connections from selected texts.
Process Strategies
When it comes to process strategies, the educator should allow the students the choice to decide on learning materials. The children should be able to read, watch or listen to creative texts of their choosing (Praneet & Malinee, 2014). The strategy makes the children deepen their thinking over selected texts, which improves their understanding. The teacher can create a digital or physical library within the classroom. During oral lessons, children are allowed to pick from the library. Another process strategy for young learners is sharing text or contextual understanding in small groups. Cooperative learning is cited in educational research as an effective tool for expanding ideas and viewpoints on particular topics. The teacher can create groups where the children share notes or take part in a more active simulation. Groups can help enhance memory recall and contextual understanding in young learners.
Product Strategies
The final product or learning outcome needs to be tangible or visible. One tactic to enhance visibility is adopting ‘sensory-based’ activities in the reading classroom. The teacher can create a sequencing event for the oral lessons. An example is a diction exercise where students read a page or paragraph from a single story book in the order in which they sit in class. The teacher asks the students what they understand from the paragraph they read. Holding the book, reading it and discussing what it says is a hands-on approach that will benefit learners of different learning styles (Tomlinson & Moon, 2013). The second strategy is choice boards. The tactic refers to a physical sheet with a variety of activities designed to differentiate learners based on interests and abilities. Like most of the strategies selected in this report, the student is given the freedom to select the reading activity from the choice board for enhanced interest and engagement. The tactic also allows the children to develop self-confidence and feel valued within the classroom environment.
Assessment Creation and Response
The lesson plan will employ both formal and informal assessment methods. Orlich et al. (2018) argue that learners should be allowed to exhibit their comprehension of literature in various ways to reflect their distinct learning styles. Formative assessments, such as diction and storytelling, will present learners with the opportunity to portray their knowledge using personal or shared representations. Students can also produce daily journal entries to chart changes in how they understand what has been learned over the lessons. The educator can create a learning center to provide an opportunity for learners to select their preferred assessment method. The center can have various evaluation tools, such as worksheets and surveys. The lesson plan will emulate higher learning courses and use rubrics to enhance the validity and visibility of formal assessments. Rubrics equally facilitate the standardization of evaluations for different students. Informal assessments can include observations and discussions with parents. The underlying objective is to always employ tactics that increase the learner’s interest, engagement and commitment to language development.
References
Orlich, D. C., Harder, R. J., Callahan, R. C., Brown, A. H., & Trevisan, M. S. (2018). Teaching strategies: A guide to effective instruction. Cengage Learning.
Praneet, S. & Malinee, P. (2014). The use of retelling stories technique in developing English speaking ability of grade 9 students. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 5(5), 141-155.
Tomlinson, C. & Moon, T. (2013). Assessment and student success in a differentiated classroom. ASCD.